Back Jack

ABSTRACT

An upper body garment with a vertical opening in the back (and no opening in the front) which opening is designed to be fully closed and which upper body garment is designed for use by individuals with disabilities or handicaps to make it easier for such individuals to be dressed in a manner that is appropriate for both public places indoors and outdoor use.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

None

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

None

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to a garment for the upper body that is designed to facilitate use by individuals who are disabled or otherwise have difficulty putting on the typical upper body garment which requires that arms be maneuvered to get them into the sleeves (or arm holes for sleeveless garments). Dressing and undressing individuals who have a physical (or mental) impairment is often a difficult and time consuming task. Putting arms through sleeves and legs through pants legs can be particularly difficult depending on the nature of the physical (or mental) impairment.

A further aspect of the invention is that it allows the garment to be fully closed in the back (whether by two pieces of fabric that stick together, a zipper, hook and eye, or other means of fastening or by a combination of fastening means). While there are some garments that are sold with a single fastener in the back at the top or in the middle of the back, such garments are unsuitable for clothing to be worn in colder weather where a full back opening is uncomfortable, if not dangerous for individuals who are sick. Such garments with a single fastener are also generally unsuitable for being worn in public, as such fasteners do not fully close the garment.

This invention is suitable for blouses, shirts, coats, sweaters and any other upper body garment, and particularly those with long sleeves. While the individual wearing the garment will still need the assistance of a person to close the back, that is significantly less assistance than is often needed to get both arms through sleeves when the opening for the garment is in the front.

Yet another aspect of this invention is that it provides more comfort, reliability and ease of use than existing solutions for such individuals.

Having witnessed the struggles of individuals disabled through illness, injury, accident and other causes in using the standard upper garments available on the market, there is a significant need for this invention.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to satisfying the need for upper body garments which are usable by those who, due to injury, illness, accident or other reason, have difficulty putting their arms through the sleeves of front opening garments and need something suitable for wearing in public.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A depicts the front and FIG. 1B depicts the back of an upper body garment designed in accordance with this invention. The front part of the garment, as shown in FIG. 1A, is closed, and the sleeves extend forward, facilitating putting the arms through the sleeves. FIG. 1A further shows optional features of the garment including a pouch to facilitate carrying items and elastic in the cuff to allow for a snug fit (particularly for garments worn in the winter) FIGS. 1A and 1B at #3 show a detachable hood. FIG. 1B depicts the back of the garment with a vertical opening from the top to the bottom of the garment which is designed to be closed and can be closed by any means of fastening used in conventional front opening upper body garments.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict the front (FIG. 2A) and back (FIG. 2B) of an alternate version of the upper body garment designed in accordance with this invention. The front part of the garment, as shown in the FIG. 2A has an opening that extends about a third of the way down the garment and is capable of being closed through the use of a fastener. The sleeves extend forward, facilitating putting the arms through the sleeves. FIG. 2A further shows an optional feature of the garment namely a pouch to facilitate carrying items. FIG. 2B depicts an optional feature of the garment namely a detachable hood. The back of the garment as shown in FIG. 2B has a vertical opening from the top to the bottom of the garment which is designed to be closed and can be closed by any means of fastening used in conventional front opening upper body garments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B depict the front and back of an alternate version of the upper body garment designed in accordance with this invention. The front part of the garment, as shown in FIG. 3A has an opening that extends from the top to the bottom of the garment, allowing it to be opened and closed in the front in addition to the back. The sleeves extend forward, facilitating putting the arms through the sleeves. FIG. 3A further shows an optional alternative to the pouch in the form of pockets. FIG. 3B depicts the back of the garment with a vertical opening from the top to the bottom of the garment which is designed to be closed and can be closed by any means of fastening used in conventional front opening upper body garments. The advantage to this version is that it can be opened either in the front or the back,

DESCRIPTION

In the Summary of the Invention above, the Description of the Invention and the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features of this invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this Specification does not include all possible combinations of such particular features (e.g. fastening alternatives). For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature may also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally.

The term “adhering material” means two pieces of material that are designed to be closed by pressure and opened by gently pulling apart. One example of such material is the material sold under the brand name Velcro.

The term “fastener” and grammatical equivalents thereof (e.g. means of fastening and fastening means) are used herein to mean any means that can be used to fasten two pieces of a garment, including but not limited to buttons and holes, hooks and eyes, zippers, snaps and adhering material used either like buttons or snaps, or like a zipper with long vertical strips on each side of the opening.

As used herein, the term “upper body garment” or just “garment” means coats, jackets, shirts, blouses, vests, sweaters, night shirts, and any other garment that has sleeves intended for one's arms.

As used herein, the term “vertical opening” means an opening that is from the top to the bottom of the garment and is designed to be fastened, and the term “partial vertical opening” means an opening that extends from the top of the upper body garment down but not all the way to the bottom of the garment. While in many instances such opening may be vertical, it may also be diagonal, in steps, or in other forms for aesthetic reasons so long as it can be closed and fastened.

These definitions apply regardless of whether or not the terms are capitalized.

The invention comprises an upper body garment such as a jacket or coat which is designed so that the closed part of the garment covers the front of the torso and the part of the garment which includes a vertical opening is found in the back of the garment. This design enables the sleeves to be more towards the front than in a typical upper body garment and as a result is easier for a person with a disability that limits range of motion or makes it more difficult to control motion to put the upper body garment on. Assistance would be required to close the back of the upper body garment, but the required time and assistance to close the back of the upper body garment would be much less than the time it currently takes to assist such a person in putting his or her arms through sleeves in a conventional garment and then assisting in closing the upper body garment.

In yet another embodiment of this invention, the vertical opening may have overlapping material such that the opening may be closed with or more different types of fasteners. One such embodiment may use a zipper for the “inner” closure and have buttons, snaps or material adhering to material to close the overlapping flap of material. This embodiment is particularly suited for winter weather where a single closure may not be sufficient.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises an upper body garment such as a jacket or coat which is designed so that the part of the garment that covers the front of the torso includes a partial vertical opening and the back of the garment includes a vertical opening from the top to the bottom of the garment. The partial vertical opening in the front further facilitates putting the garment on and taking it off. This design enables the sleeves to be more towards the front than in a typical upper body garment and as a result is easier for a person with a disability that limits range of motion or makes it more difficult to control motion to put the upper body garment on. Assistance would be required to close the back of the upper body garment, but the required time and assistance to close the back of the upper body garment would be much less than the time it currently takes to assist such a person in putting his or her arms through sleeves in a conventional garment and then assisting in closing the upper body garment.

In yet another embodiment of this invention, either or both the front vertical opening and the back vertical opening may have overlapping material such that the opening may be closed with or more different types of fasteners. One such embodiment may use a zipper for the “inner” closure and have buttons, snaps or material adhering to material to close the overlapping flap of material. This embodiment is particularly suited for winter weather where a single closure may not be sufficient.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises an upper body garment such as a jacket or coat which is designed so that both the part of the garment that covers the front of the torso and the part of the garment that covers the back of the torso contain a vertical opening from the top to the bottom of the garment. The combination of both vertical openings further facilitates putting the garment on and taking it off. This design enables the sleeves to be more towards the front than in a typical upper body garment and as a result is easier for a person with a disability that limits range of motion or makes it more difficult to control motion to put the upper body garment on. Assistance would be required to close the back of the upper body garment, but the required time and assistance to close the back of the upper body garment would be much less than the time it currently takes to assist such a person in putting his or her arms through sleeves in a conventional garment and then assisting in closing the upper body garment.

In yet another embodiment of this invention, either or both the front vertical opening and the back vertical opening may have overlapping material such that the opening may be closed with or more different types of fasteners. One such embodiment may use a zipper for the “inner” closure and have buttons, snaps or material adhering to material to close the overlapping flap of material. This embodiment is particularly suited for winter weather where a single closure may not be sufficient.

In the first two embodiments of this invention described above, front of the garment may include a pouch to store things that the person wishes to bring along (such as medicines, documents, records), as it is often easier for a disable person to use a pouch than a pocket.

In any of the above embodiments of this invention described above, the upper body garment may have different types of collars and lengths of sleeves based on the season in which it is to be used, with collars coming up the neck for winter months and collars stopping at shoulder height in warmer weather, and with sleeves varying from full length to very short sleeves.

In any of the above embodiments of this invention, the base of the garment may be designed to accommodate legs when in a sitting position (particularly for individuals confined to a wheel chair).

In any of the above embodiments of this invention, the garment may include a detachable hood.

In any of the above embodiments of this invention, the garment may include pockets.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the variations that might be found in this type of garment as it can be readily imagined that any existing upper body garment could be adapted to this invention if there was sufficient market demand for it.

This invention satisfies the need for a an upper body garment that can be easily used with individuals who are handicapped or disabled and find it difficult to use conventional upper body garments particularly because of the difficulty in threading arms through sleeves. 

I claim as my invention the following:
 1. An upper body garment with a vertical opening in the back side of the upper body garment, which vertical opening has a sufficient number of fasteners on each side of the opening to fully close the back side of the upper body garment.
 2. The invention of claim 1, wherein the front also contains a partial vertical opening extending from the top of the garment down, which may be closed by fasteners on each side of the opening.
 3. The invention of claim 1, wherein the fastener consists of vertical strips of adhering material placed on each side of the vertical opening in the upper body garment.
 4. The invention of claim 1, wherein the fastener consists of points of fastening namely buttons on one side of the vertical opening and button holes on the other side of the vertical opening.
 5. The invention of claim 1, wherein the fastener consists of points of fastening namely snaps.
 6. The invention of claim 2, wherein the fastener consists of vertical strips of adhering material placed on each side of the vertical opening in the upper body garment.
 7. The invention of claim 2, wherein the fastener consists of points of fastening namely buttons on one side of the vertical opening and button holes on the other side of the vertical opening.
 8. The invention of claim 2, wherein the fastener consists of points of fastening namely snaps.
 9. The invention of claim 2, wherein the fastener consists of a zipper with the parts of the zipper on each side of the vertical opening.
 10. An upper body garment with vertical openings in both the front and the back that extend from the top to the bottom of the upper body garment, each vertical opening having a sufficient number of fasteners along the vertical opening to fully close the vertical opening.
 11. The invention of claim 10, wherein the fastener consists of vertical strips of adhering material placed on each side of each vertical opening in the upper body garment.
 12. The invention of claim 10, wherein the fastener consists of points of fastening namely buttons on one side of the vertical opening and button holes on the other side of the vertical opening.
 13. The invention of claim 10, wherein the fastener consists of points of fastening namely snaps.
 14. The invention of claim 10, wherein the fastener consists of a zipper with the parts of the zipper on each side of the vertical opening. 